One of the biggest victories in Spurs franchise history took place far removed from the basketball court.

When Tim Duncan decided to remain with the franchise after the 2000 season, he spurned a $67.5 million, six-year deal with Orlando. It also set into motion the Spurs’ opportunity at a dynasty.

Despite playing on a playoff team each year in his previous three seasons with the Spurs, including one championship team, nothing was assured when Duncan started weighing offers from around the league. The most determined one came from Orlando, where Duncan could have potentially played with close friend Grant Hill, who was also a free agent that year.

The Spurs’ fears became more pronounced when Duncan and Hill – both of whom were clients of noted agent Lon Babby – visited with Magic officials on the first two days of the free agent period. Duncan even stayed an extra day at a Disney World resort as he soaked up the ambience of “The City Beautiful.”

The Magic went the extra mile to woo Duncan and Hill when they met with them, greeting them with a giant sign that read “Grant Us Tim.” They even sent a staffer to pick up Duncan’s favored Whoppers with cheese after learning that he hated the cold cuts they had planned for a team luncheon.

After Duncan revealed little about his intentions to the Spurs or Coach Gregg Popovich after his first meeting with them after his Orlando trip, it elevated their fears that he might really be considered moving. At one point, Hill told the Detroit News that Duncan was 75 percent certain to join Orlando.

But Duncan was swayed to remain with the Spurs by the loyalty fostered under Popovich and the belief that with David Robinson on the roster, they could contend for more championships — even with what was at the time the oldest roster in the league.

Robinson made a special trip back from Hawaii to meet with Duncan when he learned his teammate was wavering on returning.

“It was very important, yeah,” Duncan told reporters at the time. “I don’t think it was the deciding factor, as everybody seems to make it out to be. It was very important, just to talk to him face-to-face and put down what I was thinking and bounce some things off of him.”

After considering all the factors, Duncan decided to remain. Spurs Nation has never been the same since then.

“Orlando had a lot to offer,” Duncan said. “I went down there and had a good time. But when it came down to it, I just like what I had here.”

They said it, part I: “Stay Tim Stay,” thousands of placards in the San Antonio area before his decision imploring Duncan to remain with the Spurs.

They said it, part II: “I’m frustrated. I’m worried. I really thought Tim was going to stay. And deep down, I guess I still do,” One unnamed Spurs player, who voiced his fears to the Express-News that Duncan might consider leaving before he made his decision.

They said it, part III: “It’s important to David that Tim stay in San Antonio. That’s the clearly the message of his trip. Our understanding is Tim is undecided. So before Tim makes his decision, David wants to do his best to make him stay. David wants to do everything he can to help convince Tim to remain a Spur,” Robinson’s agent, Jeff Austin, on why Robinson’s made a special trip back from Hawaii to meet with Duncan.

They said it, part IV: “We’re in the same position we’ve always been in,” Popovich said. “We’ve got a great city, a championship-caliber team. Tim’s been a big part of that – he knows it.”

They said it, part V: “We tried to exhaust every opportunity. We tried to change his mind and sway him. We made a battle out of it. We took the best shot that we could,” Orlando general manager John Gabriel on his team’s unsuccessful bid for Duncan.

They said it, part VI: “I was in and I was out. When I went down and saw what they had to offer, it made my decision a lot harder. But it came down to certain little things,” Duncan, describing how difficult it was to turn down Orlando’s offer.

They said it, part VII: “Sometimes he can be a real different dude. In that sense, I mean, he loves to mess with me. The guy just loves to see me twist,” Popovich, on the telephone call from Duncan where he told him he would be returning to the Spurs.

They said it, part VIII: “I’m glad the process is over, and I hope the people will stop following me,” Duncan, describing the media frenzy in San Antonio and Orlando about his decision.

They said it, part IX: “Great, now he’s on drugs,” Babby, jokingly replying to reports made by two San Antonio radio stations that Duncan had switched his prescriptions to an Orlando pharmacy, indicating he might be leaving.

They said it, part X: “Basically, we knew that if he left, this situation here was over. Yeah, we still would have had a decent team, but they would have had to start over and start fresh,” Spurs guard Steve Kerr, to the Los Angeles Times on the Spurs’ prospects if Duncan had left.

THE UPSHOT: Duncan remained in San Antonio and the rest has been history. He has developed into the greatest power forward in NBA annals, leading the team to three more NBA championships and the playoffs in every season. The second one came in 2003 when he produced a near quadruple-double to spark a victory over New Jersey in Robinson’s final game. It’s not a stretch to consider that without luring Duncan to come back, the Spurs might not be in San Antonio today. As a consolation prize, the Magic signed Tracy McGrady, but the dynamic duo of him and Hill lasted only four games before Hill’s sustained a season-ending ankle injury. Hill later would endure five surgeries. The Magic have never won an NBA title.